2024-02-22 15:04:00
The First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, will close his first trip to Argentina this Thursday but has a busy agenda for the rest of the day. First of all will have a meeting with the President of the Nation, Javier Mileiat a time when the Government is analyzing the possibility of a new agreement with the organism.
And then, in a meeting scheduled at 3 p.m., the official will also receive the CGT, specifically Gerardo Martínez, head of the UOCRA union and representative of the labor union before multilateral organizations.
Martínez, who is Secretary of International Relations of the CGT, has in mind to expose the open and frontal rejection of the union center once morest the adjustment plan launched by the government of Javier Miley.
As Martínez indicated to the newspaper The nation, will ask Gopinath to intervene to open a channel of dialogue and negotiation with the President. “Without dialogue, we will resist. We are going to ask the IMF to intervene so that the Government receives us and so that it understands that in Argentina there is no political force that can solve things alone,” said the union representative.
The meeting with President Milei
The president will meet once more with the No. 2 of the IMF following ‘seeing each other’ in mid-January, within the framework of World Economic Forum that took place in Davos. On that occasion, both had a dialogue regarding the political and economic situation of the country, following Milei’s meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, and They were even able to take a photo.
It is expected that during the meeting the main political issues are addressedhow can it be social tolerance to the economic planthe relationship with governors following the fall of the “Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines”as well as the elimination of Interior transportation subsidies and discretionary transfers, and possible new reforms that would be sought to be carried out from Aprilamong other possible topics.
The agenda of the also former Chief Economist of the organization between 2019 and 2022 for this February 22 also foresees, a round of meetings with personalities from the academic world, representatives of civil society, businessmen and workersas usually happens during an official visit of the multilateral organization, the agency reported Telam.
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Gopinath met with Caputo
The economist is in the country to, as she stated Julie Kozackspokesperson for the organization, “know the difficult economic and social challenges” as well as “its enormous potential”. It is the first trip of an IMF member following the recent technical agreement for the seventh review of the program with the country, revived following the failures of the Alberto Fernández cycle, within the framework of the debt contracted in 2018during the mandate of Mauricio Macri.
In this context, this Wednesday held a meeting with the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputowhere they were analyzed public accounts and the government’s fiscal adjustment plan, following the financial surplus of $0.5 billion announced for January. It was also highlighted the decline in retail inflationfrom 25% in December to 20% in January, as well as the expectation of 15% in February.
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They said ‘gift’ the president of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), Santiago Bausili; the chief of staff, Nicolas Posse; and the Secretary of Finance, Pablo Quirno, on the Argentine side. On behalf of the International Monetary Fund, they also participated Luis Cubeddudeputy director of the Western Hemisphere department; Ben Kelmansonresident senior representative of the IMF in Argentina; Ashvin Ahuja, head of mission for Argentina; and Matthew Jonessenior advisor.
After the meeting, Gopinath expressed, through the red social X (ex Twitter) that kept “a productive discussion with Minister Caputo” and his team regarding “ongoing efforts to restore macroeconomic stabilityprotect the vulnerable and strengthen growth prospects in Argentina”.
Pleased to be in Buenos Aires. Had a productive discussion with Minister Caputo, @LuisCaputoARGovernor Bausili of @BancoCentral_ARand Chief of Staff Posse on the ongoing efforts to restore macroeconomic stability, protect the vulnerable and strengthen growth prospects in… pic.twitter.com/4trnSessl9
— Gita Gopinath (@GitaGopinath) February 21, 2024
It should be noted that this trip takes place following updateon the part of the organism, of his perspective for the Argentine economy looking ahead to 2024. While, in October of last year, it estimated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product would increase by 2.8%, it now anticipates a drop of the same number, which symbolizes a negative variation of 5.6%.
This last information emerged from the report “World Economic Outlook Update”, released on Tuesday, January 30 in Washington. “The forecast review for 2024 reflects negative growth in Argentina in the context of a major policy adjustment to restore macroeconomic stability,” the organization expressed in the document. This was substantiated, in a press conference, by Pierre-Olivier GourinchasChief Economist of the organization and author of the document.
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Can the agreement with the IMF be renegotiated?
The current program, revived by the administration of Freedom Advances con the approval of the seventh technical review in mid-Januaryfollowing failure to meet goals by Alberto Fernández’s management, will end in September. In turn, the National Government requested, at the end of last month, postpone the last review of 2024, scheduled for September.
This would not only enable Javier Milei’s management tohave a greater margin of time to implement economic reforms but to, potentially, negotiate a new program. And this is where made focus the head of the Treasury Palace, Luis Caputofollowing the meeting he held with members of the International Monetary Fund.
“They They put on the table the possibility of a new agreementwe also we study alternatives and we talk regarding a new agreement, to see if there is something better for Argentines. It’s not that we are going to do it but that let’s study it. If it is better and that involves more disbursements, well. “We are studying what is best for the country,” she detailed in an interview with All News.
Although this is something regarding which there are still more doubts and certainties, might be one of the axes of conversation in the talk between the libertarian and Gita Gopinath. If you propose it and have an interest in carrying it forward in the medium term, would require the approval of a National Congress where, recently, Milei had his first major defeat at the head of the Executive Branchwith the fall of the Omnibus Law project, which led to a kind of ‘Holy war’ with deputies and governors.
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